Tomato line FDS 15-2118

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of tomato line FDS 15-2118. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of tomato line FDS 15-2118, and to methods for producing a tomato plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another tomato plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/718,644,filed Mar. 5, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,097,791, the entire disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and theinbred tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects or disease, tolerance to environmental stress, andnutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines and hybrids derivedtherefrom are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new lines and hybrids are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a tomato plant of thehybrid designated PS 01565172, the tomato line FDR 15-2081 or tomatoline FDS 15-2118. Also provided are tomato plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of such a plant. Partsof these tomato plants are also provided, for example, including pollen,an ovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of tomato hybrid PS 01565172and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 comprising an addedheritable trait is provided. The heritable trait may comprise a geneticlocus that is, for example, a dominant or recessive allele. In oneembodiment of the invention, a plant of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and/ortomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 is defined as comprising asingle locus conversion. In specific embodiments of the invention, anadded genetic locus confers one or more traits such as, for example,herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance, and modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism. In further embodiments, the trait may beconferred by a naturally occurring gene introduced into the genome of aline by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or a transgeneintroduced through genetic transformation techniques into the plant or aprogenitor of any previous generation thereof. When introduced throughtransformation, a genetic locus may comprise one or more genesintegrated at a single chromosomal location.

The invention also concerns the seed of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and/ortomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118. The tomato seed of theinvention may be provided as an essentially homogeneous population oftomato seed of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081and FDS 15-2118. Essentially homogeneous populations of seed aregenerally free from substantial numbers of other seed. Therefore, seedof hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118may be defined as forming at least about 97% of the total seed,including at least about 98%, 99% or more of the seed. The seedpopulation may be separately grown to provide an essentially homogeneouspopulation of tomato plants designated PS 01565172 and/or tomato linesFDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a tomato plant of hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 is provided. The tissue culture will preferablybe capable of regenerating tomato plants capable of expressing all ofthe physiological and morphological characteristics of the startingplant, and of regenerating plants having substantially the same genotypeas the starting plant. Examples of some of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomatolines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 include those traits set forth in thetables herein. The regenerable cells in such tissue cultures may bederived, for example, from embryos, meristems, cotyledons, pollen,leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistils, flowers, seed and stalks.Still further, the present invention provides tomato plants regeneratedfrom a tissue culture of the invention, the plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of hybrid PS 01565172and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing tomato seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent tomato plant with a second parenttomato plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent tomatoplants is a plant of tomato line FDR 15-2081 or tomato line FDS 15-2118.These processes may be further exemplified as processes for preparinghybrid tomato seed or plants, wherein a first tomato plant is crossedwith a second tomato plant of a different, distinct genotype to providea hybrid that has, as one of its parents, a plant of tomato line FDR15-2081 or tomato line FDS 15-2118. In these processes, crossing willresult in the production of seed. The seed production occurs regardlessof whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent tomato plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent tomato plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent tomato plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent tomato plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a tomato plant or hybrid tomatoplant.

The present invention also provides the tomato seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent tomato plant with asecond parent tomato plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent tomato plants is a plant of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and/ortomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118. In one embodiment of theinvention, tomato seed and plants produced by the process are firstgeneration (F₁) hybrid tomato seed and plants produced by crossing aplant in accordance with the invention with another, distinct plant. Thepresent invention further contemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybridtomato plant, and methods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplaryembodiments of the invention provide an F₁ hybrid tomato plant and seedthereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato linesFDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118, the method comprising the steps of: (a)preparing a progeny plant derived from hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomatolines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118, wherein said preparing comprisescrossing a plant of the hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 with a second plant; and (b) crossing theprogeny plant with itself or a second plant to produce a seed of aprogeny plant of a subsequent generation. In further embodiments, themethod may additionally comprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of asubsequent generation from said seed of a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration and crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generationwith itself or a second plant; and repeating the steps for an additional3-10 generations to produce a plant derived from hybrid PS 01565172and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118. The plant derived fromhybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 maybe an inbred line, and the aforementioned repeated crossing steps may bedefined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbred line.In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plants resultingfrom step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). Byselecting plants having one or more desirable traits, a plant derivedfrom hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118is obtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of theline/hybrid as well as potentially other selected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of tomatohybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting atleast one tomato from the plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement oftomato hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS15-2118 is provided. The phrase “genetic complement” is used to refer tothe aggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of which sequencesdefines the phenotype of, in the present case, a tomato plant, or a cellor tissue of that plant. A genetic complement thus represents thegenetic makeup of a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid geneticcomplement represents the genetic make up of a hybrid cell, tissue orplant. The invention thus provides tomato plant cells that have agenetic complement in accordance with the tomato plant cells disclosedherein, and seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid PS 01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081and FDS 15-2118 could be identified by any of the many well knowntechniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs(RAPDs), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence CharacterizedAmplified Regions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction(AP-PCR), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by tomato plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a tomato plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second tomato plant, preferably, another, distincttomato plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a tomatoplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a plant of an hybridtomato that exhibits a combination of traits comprising: a high-qualitysaladette tomato with a classic egg shape; uniform large fruits;excellent fruit set; resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus; resistanceto tomato yellow leaf curl virus; resistance to nematodes; andresistance to tomato marichitez virus (which is also known as tomatoapical necrosis virus). In certain embodiments, the combination oftraits may be defined as controlled by genetic means for the expressionof the combination of traits found in tomato hybrid PS 01565172.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method ofdetermining the genotype of a plant of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and/ortomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 comprising detecting in thegenome of the plant at least a first polymorphism. The method may, incertain embodiments, comprise detecting a plurality of polymorphisms inthe genome of the plant. The method may further comprise storing theresults of the step of detecting the plurality of polymorphisms on acomputer readable medium. The invention further provides a computerreadable medium produced by such a method.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of tomato hybrid PS 01565172, tomato line FDR15-2081 and tomato line FDS 15-2118. The hybrid PS 01565172 is producedby the cross of parent lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118. The parentlines show uniformity and stability within the limits of environmentalinfluence. By crossing the parent lines, uniform seed hybrid PS 01565172can be obtained.

The development of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and its parent lines can besummarized as follows.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Tomato Hybrid PS 01565172

The parents of hybrid PS 01565172 are FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118. Theseparents were created as follows:

FDR 15-2081 was derived from FDR 15-2045 and FL 7547. FDR 15-2045produces extra-large fruit, a trait derived from NC 84173. FL 7547provided resistance to Fusarium wilt, race 3.

FDS 15-2118 bears pear-shaped fruit and was derived from the Seminisproprietary hybrid Xaman. Xaman carries resistance to tomato spottedwilt virus and tomato yellow leaf curl virus. Xaman is derived from FDR15-2078 and FDS 15-2058.

The combination of the parents FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 provideshybrid PS 0156172 with resistance to tomato marchitez virus. Tomatomarchitez virus is also known as tomato apical necrosis virus. Theparent lines are uniform and stable, as is a hybrid therefrom. A smallpercentage of variants can occur within commercially acceptable limitsfor almost any characteristic during the course of repeatedmultiplication. However no variants are expected.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Tomato Hybrid PS01565172, Tomato Line FDR 15-2081 and Tomato Line FDS 15-2118

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and the parent linesthereof. A description of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of such plants is presented in Tables 1-3.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Hybrid PS01565172 CHARACTERISTIC PS 01565172 Picus 1. Seedling Anthocyanin inhypocotyl of 2-15 cm Present Present seedling (Montfavet H 63.4) Habitof 3-4 week old seedling Normal Normal 2. Mature plant Plant height 60cm 69 cm Growth type Determinate Determinate (Campbell 1327, Prisca)Number of inflorescences on main stem Medium Medium (side shoots to beremoved) (Montfavet H 63.4) Form Lax, open Lax, open Size of canopy(compared to others of Medium Large similar type) Habit SprawlingSprawling (decumbent) 3. Stem Anthocyanin coloration of upper third WeakAbsent or (Montfavet H 63.5) very weak Branching Intermediate Profuse(Westover) Branching at cotyledon or first leafy Absent Present nodeNumber of nodes between first 4 to 7 7 to 10 inflorescence Number ofnodes between early (1st to 1 to 4 1 to 4 2nd, 2nd to 3rd)inflorescences Number of nodes between later 1 to 4 1 to 4 developinginflorescences Pubescence on younger stems Moderately hairy Moderatelyhairy 4. Leaf Type (mature leaf beneath the 3rd Tomato Tomatoinflorescence) Morphology (mature leaf beneath the Bipinnate Bipinnate3rd inflorescence) Margins of major leaflets (mature leaf Shallowlytoothed or Shallowly toothed beneath the 3rd inflorescence) scalloped orscalloped Marginal rolling or wiltiness (mature Absent Absent leafbeneath the 3rd inflorescence) Onset of leaflet rolling (mature leafLate season Mid season beneath the 3rd inflorescence) Surface of majorleaflets (mature leaf Smooth Smooth beneath the 3rd inflorescence)Pubescence (mature leaf beneath the Normal Hirsute 3rd inflorescence)Attitude (in middle third of plant) Semi-erect Horizontal (Allround,Drakar, Vitador) Length Medium Long (Lorena) Width Medium MediumDivision of blade Pinnate Pinnate (Mikado, Pilot, Red Jacket) Size ofleaflets (in middle of leaf) Large Large (Daniela, Hynema) Intensity ofgreen color Medium Dark (Lucy) Glossiness (in middle third of plant)Weak Weak (Daniela) Attitude of petiole of leaflet in relationSemi-drooping Semi drooping to main axis (in middle third of plant)Montfavet H 63.5 5. Inflorescence Type (2nd and 3rd truss) Mainlyuniparous Mainly (Dynamo) multiparous Type (3rd inflorescence) SimpleForked Average number of flowers in 5 6 inflorescence (3rdinflorescence) Leafy or “Running” inflorescence (3rd Absent Occasionalinflorescence) 6. Flower Calyx Normal Normal (Lobes awl shaped)Calyx-lobes Approx. equaling Shorter than corolla corolla Corolla ColorYellow Yellow Style Pubescence Absent or very scarce Sparse (Campbell1327) Anthers All fused into tube All fused into tube Fasciation (1stflower of 2nd or 3rd Absent Occasionally inflorescence) (Monalbo,present Moneymaker) Color Yellow Yellow (Marmande VR) 7. Fruit Typicalshape in longitudinal section Elliptical Heart Shaped (3rd fruit of 2ndor 3rd cluster) Shape of transverse/cross section (3rd Round Round fruitof 2nd or 3rd cluster) Shape of stem end (3rd fruit of 2nd or IndentedFlat 3rd cluster) Shape of blossom end (3rd fruit of 2nd Pointed/taperedFlat to pointed/ or 3rd cluster) (Europeel, Heinze nippled 1706, Hypeel244, Roma VF) Size of blossom scar Small Very small (Montfavet H 63.4,Montfavet 63.5) Shape of pistil scar (3rd fruit of 2nd or Dot Dot 3rdcluster) Peduncle: abscission layer (3rd fruit of Present Present 2nd or3rd cluster) (Pedicellate) (Montfavet H 63.5, Roma) Peduncle: length(from abscission Medium Medium layer to calyx) (Dario, Primosol) Ribbingat peduncle end Weak Absent or very (Early Mech, Hypeel weak 244,Melody, Peto Gro, Rio Grande) Depression at peduncle end Weak Weak(Futuria, Melody) Size of stem/peduncle scar Medium Small (Montfavet H63.4, Montfavet 63.5, Rutgers) Point of detachment of fruit at harvestAt pedicel joint At calyx (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) attachementLength of dedicel (from joint to calyz 11 mm 13 mm attachment, 3rd fruitof 2nd or 3rd cluster) Length of mature fruit (3rd fruit of 2nd 67 mm 79mm or 3rd cluster) Diameter of fruit at widest point (stem 53 mm 46 mmaxis, 3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) Weight of mature fruit (3rd fruitof 2nd 96 grams 105 gm or 3rd cluster) Size Medium Medium (Alphamec,Diego) Ratio length/diameter Medium Medium (Early Mech, Peto Gro) CorePresent Coreless Size of core in cross section (in relation Medium tototal diameter) (Montfavet H 63.4, Montfavet H 63.5) Number of locules 3or 4 2 or 3 (Montfavet H 63.5) Surface Smooth Smooth Base color(mature-green stage) Light Green Apple or medium (Lanai, VF 145-F5)green Pattern (mature-green stage) Uniform green Green shouldered Greenshoulder (before maturity) Absent Present (Felicia, Rio Grande, Trust)Shoulder color if different from base Yellow green Extent of greenshoulder (before Medium maturity) Intensity of green color of shoulderMedium (before maturity) Intensity of green color of fruit (before LightMedium maturity) (Capello, Duranto, Trust) Color at maturity (full-ripe)Red Red (Ferline, Daniela, Montfavet H 63.5) Color of flesh at maturity(full-ripe) Red/Crimson Red/Crimson (Forline, Saint-Pierre) Flesh colorUniform Uniform Locular gel color of table-ripe fruit Red Red FirmnessFirm Medium (Fernova, Konsul, Tradiro) Shelf life Long Long (Daniela)Time of flowering Early Medium (Feria, Primabel) Time of maturity EarlyVery early (Feria, Rossol) Ripening (blossom-to-stem axis) UniformBlossom to stem end Ripening (radial axis) Uniform Uniform Epidermiscolor Yellow Yellow Epidermis Normal Normal Epidermis Texture ToughTough Thickness of pericarp Thick Thick (Cal J, Daniela, Ferline, PetoGro, Rio Grande) Sensitivity to silvering Insensitive Insensitive(Marathon, Sano) 8. Chemistry and composition of full-ripe fruits pH 4.54.36 Titratable acidity, as % citric 0.22112 0.40672 Total solids (drymatter, seeds and skin 5.600594 grams per 5.27936 grams per removed) 100grams of sample 100 grams of sample Soluble solids as ° Brix 4.99 4.5959. Phenology Seeding to once over harvest 107 days 72 days Fruitingseason Long Long (Marglobe) Relative maturity in areas tested EarlyEarly 10. Adaptation Culture Field Field Principle use Fresh MarketFresh Market Machine Harvest Not adapted Not adapted Regions to whichadaptation has been Sacramento and demonstrated Upper San Joaquin Valleyof California *These are typical values. Values may vary due toenvironment. Other values that are substantially equivalent are alsowithin the scope of the invention.

TABLE 2 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Line FDR15-2081 FDR 15- 478*HP478 (FLA CHARACTERISTIC FDR 15-2081 7060) 1.Seedling Anthocyanin in hypocotyl of 2-15 cm Present Present seedling(Montfavet H 63.4) Habit of 3-4 week old seedling Normal Normal 2.Mature plant Plant Height 55.7 cm 55 cm Growth type DeterminateDeterminate (Campbell 1327, Prisca) Number of inflorescences on mainstem Medium Medium (side shoots to be removed) (Montfavet H 63.4) FormNormal Normal Size of canopy (compared to others of Medium Mediumsimilar type) Habit Semi-erect Semi-erect 3. Stem Anthocyanin colorationof upper third Absent or very weak Medium Branching IntermediateIntermediate (Westover) Branching at cotyledon or first leafy PresentPresent node Number of nodes between first 7 to 10 7 to 10 inflorescenceNumber of nodes between early (1st to 1 to 4 1 to 4 2nd, 2nd to 3rd)inflorescences Number of nodes between later 1 to 4 1 to 4 developinginflorescences Pubescence on younger stems Sparsely hairy Sparsely hairy(scattered long hairs) 4. Leaf Type (mature leaf beneath the 3rd TomatoTomato inflorescence) Morphology (Mature leaf beneath the BipinnateBipinnate 3rd Inflorescence) Margins of major leaflets (mature leafShallowly toothed or Shallowly toothed beneath the 3rd inflorescence)scalloped or scalloped Marginal rolling or wiltiness (mature StrongAbsent leaf beneath the 3rd inflorescence) Onset of leaflet rolling(mature leaf Mid season Late season beneath the 3rd inflorescence)Surface of major leaflets (mature leaf Rugose Rugose beneath the 3rdinflorescence) (bumpy or veiny) Pubescence (mature leaf beneath theNormal Hirsute 3rd inflorescence) Attitude (in middle third of plant)Semi-erect Semi Drooping (Allround, Drakar, Vitador) Length MediumMedium (Lorena) Width Medium Medium Division of blade Pinnate Pinnate(Mikado, Pilot, Red Jacket) Size of leaflets (in middle of leaf) MediumMedium (Marmande VR, Royesta) Intensity of green color Medium Medium(Lucy) Glossiness (in middle third of plant) Weak Medium (Daniela)Blistering (in middle third of plant) Weak Size of blisters (in middlethird of Small plant) Attitude of petiole of leaflet in relationHorizontal Semi drooping to main axis (in middle third of plant)(Sonatine) 5. Inflorescence Type (2nd and 3rd truss) Mainly uniparousMainly uniparous (Dynamo) Type (3rd inflorescence) Simple Simple Averagenumber of flowers in 4.8 4 inflorescence (3rd inflorescence) Leafy or“Running” inflorescence (3rd Occasional Occasional inflorescence) 6.Flower Calyx Normal Normal (lobes awl shaped) Calyx-lobes Shorter thancorolla Shorter than corolla Corolla Color Yellow Yellow StylePubescence Absent or very scarce Sparse (Campbell 1327) Anthers Allfused into tube All fused into tube Fasciation (1st flower of 2nd or 3rdAbsent Absent inflorescence) (Monalbo, Moneymaker) Color Yellow(Marmande Yellow VR) 7. Fruit Typical shape in longitudinal sectionCircular Circular (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) Shape oftransverse/cross section (3rd Round Round fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster)Shape of stem end (3rd fruit of 2nd or Indented Indented 3rd cluster)Shape of blossom end (3rd fruit of 2nd Indented to flat Flat or 3rdcluster) Size of blossom scar Medium Shape of pistil scar (3rd fruit of2nd or Dot Irregular 3rd cluster) Peduncle: abscission layer (3rd fruitof Present Present 2nd or 3rd cluster) (pedicellate) (Montfavet H 63.5,Roma) Peduncle: length (from abscission Short Long layer to calyx)(Cerise, Ferline, Montfavet H 63.18, Rossol) Ribbing at peduncle endAbsent or very weak Weak (Calimero, Cerise) Depression at peduncle endWeak Weak (Futuria, Melody) Size of stem/peduncle scar Medium Large(Montfavet H 63.4, Montfavet H 63.5, Rutgers) Point of detachment offruit at harvest At pedicel joint At pedicel joint (3rd fruit of 2nd or3rd cluster) Length of dedicel from joint to calyx 9.7 mm 16 mmattachment (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) Length of mature fruit(stem axis, 3rd 51.7 mm 69 mm fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) Diameter offruit at widest point (3rd 61.3 mm 75 mm fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster)Weight of mature fruit (3rd fruit of 2nd 120.2 grams 234 grams or 3rdcluster) Size Large Large (Carmello, Ringo) Ratio length/diameter SmallLarge (Alicia) Core Coreless Coreless (absent or smaller than 6 × 6 mm)Number of locules Only 2 4, 5 or 6 (Early Mech, Europeel, San Marzano)Surface Smooth Smooth Base color (mature-green stage) Light green Yellowgreen (Lanai, VF 145-F5) Pattern (mature-green stage) Uniform greenRadial stripes on sides of fruit Green shoulder (before maturity)Present Absent (Daniela, Montfavet H 63.5) Shoulder color if differentfrom base Yellow green Extent of green shoulder (before Medium maturity)(Erlidor, Foxy, Montfavet H 63.5) Intensity of green color of shoulderLight (before maturity) (Juboline) Intensity of green color of fruit(before Light Light maturity) (Capello, Duranto, Trust) Color atmaturity (full-ripe) Red Red (Ferline, Daniela, Montfavet H 63.5) Colorof flesh at maturity (full-ripe) Red/crimson Red/crimson (Ferline,Saint-Pierre) Flesh color Uniform Uniform Locular gel color oftable-ripe fruit Yellow Red Firmness Firm Medium (Fernova, Konsul,Tradiro) Shelf life Medium Medium (Durinta) Time of flowering MediumMedium (Montfavet H 63.5, Prisca) Time of maturity Medium Medium(Montfavet H 63.5) Ripening (blossom-to-stem axis) Uniform Blossom tostem end Ripening (radial axis) Uniform Uniform Epidermis color YellowYellow Epidermis Easy-peel Normal Epidermis Texture Tender ToughThickness of pericarp Medium Medium (Carmello, Europeel, Floradade,Heinz 1706, Montfavet H 63.5) Sensitivity to silvering InsensitiveInsensitive (Marathon, Sano) 8. Chemistry and composition of full-ripefruits pH 4.295 4.345 Titratable acidity, as % citric 0.4195200040.51808 Total solids (dry matter, seeds and skin 5.929212036 grams6.815822 grams removed) per 100 grams of per 100 grams of sample sampleSoluble solids as ° Brix 5.175 6 9. Phenology Seeding to once overharvest 120 days 106 days Fruiting season Medium Medium (Westover)Relative maturity in areas tested Early Medium early 10. AdaptationCulture Field Field Principle use Fresh market Fresh Market MachineHarvest Not adapted Not adapted Regions to which adaptation has beenSacramento and demonstrated Upper San Joaquin Valley of California*These are typical values. Values may vary due to environment. Othervalues that are substantially equivalent are also within the scope ofthe invention.

TABLE 3 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Line FDS15-2118 CHARACTERISTIC FDS 15-2118 Loreto 1. Seedling Anthocyanin inhypocotyl of 2-15 cm Present (Montfavet H Present seedling 63.4) Habitof 3-4 week old seedling Normal Normal 2. Mature plant Plant Height 46cm 84 cm Growth type Determinate Determinate (Campbell 1327, Prisca)Number of inflorescences on main stem Medium (Montfavet Many (sideshoots to be removed) H 63.4) Form Lax, open Open lax Size of canopyMedium Large Habit Sprawling Sprawling (decumbent) 3. Stem Anthocyanincoloration of upper third Absent or very weak Absent or very weakBranching Profuse (UC 82) Profuse Branching at cotyledon or first leafyPresent Present node Number of nodes between first 4 to 7 7 to 10inflorescence Number of nodes between early (1st to 1 to 4 1 to 4 2nd,2nd to 3rd) inflorescences Number of nodes between later 4 to 7 4 to 7developing inflorescences Pubescence on younger stems Sparsely hairyModerately hairy (scattered long hairs) 4. Leaf Type (mature leafbeneath the 3rd Tomato Tomato inflorescence) Morphology (mature leafbeneath the Bipinnate Bipinnate 3rd Inflorescence) Margins of majorleaflets (mature leaf Deeply toothed or cut Shallowly toothed beneaththe 3rd inflorescence) or scalloped Marginal rolling or wiltiness(mature Slight Absent leaf beneath the 3rd inflorescence) Onset ofleaflet rolling (mature leaf Early season Late season beneath the 3rdinflorescence) Surface of major leaflets (mature leaf Rugose Rugosebeneath the 3rd inflorescence) (bumpy or veiny) Pubescence (mature leafbeneath the Normal Hirsute 3rd inflorescence) Attitude (in middle thirdof plant) Horizontal Semi-drooping (Aromata, Triton) Length MediumMedium (Lorena) Width Medium Medium Division of blade Pinnate Pinnate(Mikado, Pilot, Red Jacket) Size of leaflets (in middle of leaf) SmallMedium (Tiny Tim) Intensity of green color Light Dark (Macero II,Poncette, Rossol) Glossiness (in middle third of plant) Weak Medium(Daniela) Blistering (in middle third of plant) Weak (Daniela) Size ofblisters (in middle third of Small plant) (Husky Cherrie Red) Attitudeof petiole of leaflet in relation Semi-drooping Semi-drooping to mainaxis (in middle third of plant) (Montfavet H 63.5) 5. Inflorescence Type(2nd and 3rd truss) Mainly uniparous Mainly uniparous (Dynamo) Type (3rdinflorescence) Simple Simple Average number of flowers in 5 5inflorescence (3rd inflorescence) Leafy or “Running” inflorescence (3rdAbsent Occasional inflorescence) 6. Flower Calyx Normal Normal (lobesawl shaped) Calyx-lobes Shorter than corolla Shorter than corollaCorolla Color Yellow Yellow Style Pubescence Absent or very scarceSparse (Campbell 1327) Anthers All fused into tube All fused into tubeFasciation (1st flower of 2nd or 3rd Absent Absent inflorescence)(Monalbo, Moneymaker) Color Yellow Yellow (Marmande VR) 7. Fruit Typicalshape in longitudinal section Cylindrical Ovate (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rdcluster) Shape of transverse/cross section (3rd Round Round fruit of 2ndor 3rd cluster) Shape of stem end (3rd fruit of 2nd or Flat Flat 3rdcluster) Shape of blossom end (3rd fruit of 2nd Pointed/tapered Indentedto flat or 3rd cluster) (Europeel, Heinz 1706, Hypeel 244, Roma VF) Sizeof blossom scar Small Very small (Montfavet H 63.4, Montfavet H 63.5)Shape of pistil scar (3rd fruit of 2nd or Dot Dot 3rd cluster) Peduncle:abscission layer (3rd fruit of Absent Present 2nd or 3rd cluster)(jointless) (Aledo, Bandera, Count, Lerica) Peduncle: length (fromabscission Short layer to calyx) Ribbing at peduncle end Absent or veryweak Absent or very (Calimero, Cerise) weak Depression at peduncle endAbsent or very weak Weak (Europeel, Heinz 1706, Rossol, Sweet Baby) Sizeof stem/peduncle scar Very small Small (Cerise, Heinz 1706, Sweet Baby)Point of detachment of fruit at harvest At calyx attachment At calyx(3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) attachment Length of dedicel fromjoint to calyz 10 mm 13 mm attachment (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster)Length of mature fruit (stem axis, 3rd 97 mm 62 mm fruit of 2nd or 3rdcluster) Diameter of fruit at widest point (3rd 43 mm 49 mm fruit of 2ndor 3rd cluster) Weight of mature fruit (3rd fruit of 2nd 90 grams 90grams or 3rd cluster) Size Medium Medium (Alphamech, Diego) Ratiolength/diameter Medium Medium (Early Mech, Peto Gro) Core CorelessCoreless (absent or smaller than 6 × 6 mm) Number of locules 2 or 3 2 or3 (Alphamech, Futuria) Surface Slightly rough Smooth Base color(mature-green stage) Light gray-green Yellow green Pattern (mature-greenstage) Uniform green Green shouldered Green shoulder (before maturity)Absent Present (Felicia, Rio Grande, Trust) Shoulder color if differentfrom base Dark green Extent of green shoulder (before Medium maturity)Intensity of green color of shoulder Medium (before maturity) Intensityof green color of fruit (before Light Medium maturity) (Capello,Duranto, Trust) Color at maturity (full-ripe) Red Red (Ferline, Daniela,Montfavet H 63.5) Color of flesh at maturity (full-ripe) Red/crimson Redcrimson (Ferline, Saint-Pierre) Flesh color Uniform Uniform Locular gelcolor of table-ripe fruit Red Yellow Firmness Very firm Firm (Daniela,Karat, Lolek) Shelf life Long Long (Daniela) Time of flowering MediumMedium (Montfavet H 63.5, Prisca) Time of maturity Late Medium (Manific,Saint- Pierre) Ripening (blossom-to-stem axis) Uniform Uniform Ripening(radial axis) Uniform Uniform Epidermis color Yellow Yellow Epidermis(normal or easy-peel) Normal Normal Epidermis Texture Tough AverageThickness of pericarp Medium Medium (Carmello, Europeel, Floradade,Heinz 1706, Montfavet H 63.5) Sensitivity to silvering InsensitiveInsensitive (Marathon, Sano) 8. Chemistry and composition of full-ripefruits pH 4.685 4.325 Titratable acidity, as % citric 0.24416 0.39936Total solids (dry matter, seeds and skin 5.511496 grams per 5.868482grams removed) 100 grams of sample per 100 grams of sample Solublesolids as ° Brix 4.875 5.085 9. Phenology Seeding to once over harvest107 days 113 days Fruiting season Long Medium (Marglobe) Relativematurity in areas tested Early Medium Early 10. Adaptation Culture FieldField Principle use Home garden Fresh market Machine Harvest Not adaptedRegions to which adaptation has been Sacramento and demonstrated UpperSan Joaquin Valley of California *These are typical values. Values mayvary due to environment. Other values that are substantially equivalentare also within the scope of the invention.

C. Breeding Tomato Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof tomato hybrid PS 01565172 involving crossing tomato lines FDR 15-2081and FDS 15-2118. Alternatively, in other embodiments of the invention,hybrid PS 01565172, line FDR 15-2081, or line FDS 15-2118 may be crossedwith itself or with any second plant. Such methods can be used forpropagation of hybrid PS 01565172 and/or the tomato lines FDR 15-2081and FDS 15-2118, or can be used to produce plants that are derived fromhybrid PS 01565172 and/or the tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118.Plants derived from hybrid PS 01565172 and/or the tomato lines FDR15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 may be used, in certain embodiments, for thedevelopment of new tomato varieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid PS 01565172 followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initialcrosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take place to producenew varieties. For development of a uniform line, often five or moregenerations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the plants. In selecting a second plant to cross with PS01565172 and/or tomato lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118 for the purposeof developing novel tomato lines, it will typically be preferred tochoose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or more selecteddesirable characteristics or which exhibit the desired characteristic(s)when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirable traits may include, inspecific embodiments, high seed yield, high seed germination, seedlingvigor, high fruit yield, disease tolerance or resistance, andadaptability for soil and climate conditions. Consumer-driven traits,such as a fruit shape, color, texture, and taste are other examples oftraits that may be incorporated into new lines of tomato plantsdeveloped by this invention.

D. Performance Characteristics

As described above, hybrid PS 01565172 exhibits desirable agronomictraits. The performance characteristics of hybrid PS 01565172 were thesubject of an objective analysis of the performance traits relative toother varieties. The results of the analysis are presented below.

TABLE 4 Performance Characteristics For Hybrid PS 01565172 andComparision Hybrids Molecular genotyping results (R = resistant and H =Average % resistance to heterozygous Hybrid Name tomato marchitez virus[segregating]) PS 01565172 100 RR Seri 100 RR Yaqui 70 RH Veloz 0 HH

E. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those tomato plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique. By essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristicsof a plant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in thesame environment, other than an occasional variant trait that mightarise during backcrossing or direct introduction of a transgene.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentaltomato plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental tomato plant towhich the locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a tomato plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred locus from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny tomato plants of a backcross in which a plantdescribed herein is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired traitfrom the non-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of tomato the recurrent parent asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

New varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,insect resistance, modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, andaltered nutritional quality. These comprise genes generally inheritedthrough the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of tomato plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection are well known in the art. Suchmethods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traitsand variable phenotypes, or where conventional assays may be moreexpensive, time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of geneticmarkers which could be used in accordance with the invention include,but are not necessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs(RAPDs), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence CharacterizedAmplified Regions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction(AP-PCR), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., 1998).

F. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., 1985). Moreover, recent technological advances in vectorsfor Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer have improved the arrangementof genes and restriction sites in the vectors to facilitate theconstruction of vectors capable of expressing various polypeptide codinggenes. The vectors described have convenient multi-linker regionsflanked by a promoter and a polyadenylation site for direct expressionof inserted polypeptide coding genes. Additionally, Agrobacteriumcontaining both armed and disarmed Ti genes can be used fortransformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., 1985; Omirulleh et al., 1993; Fromm et al., 1986;Uchimiya et al., 1986; Marcotte et al., 1988). Transformation of plantsand expression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(1994), and Ellul et al. (2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., 1985), including in monocots(see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., 1990; Terada and Shimamoto, 1990); atandemly duplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35Spromoter (P-e35S); 1 the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., 1988);the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., 1989); and the figwortmosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter (P-eFMV) where the promotersequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem; the cauliflower mosaic virus19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform virus promoter; a commelina yellowmottle virus promoter; and other plant DNA virus promoters known toexpress in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., 1988), (2)light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter, Kuhlemeier et al., 1989; maize rbcSpromoter, Schaffner and Sheen, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-binding proteinpromoter, Simpson et al., 1985), (3) hormones, such as abscisic acid(Marcotte et al., 1989), (4) wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al.,1989); or (5) chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, orSafener. It may also be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters(e.g., Roshal et al., 1987; Schernthaner et al., 1988; Bustos et al.,1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a tomato plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a tomato plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., 1991). The RNA could also be a catalytic RNA molecule (i.e., aribozyme) engineered to cleave a desired endogenous mRNA product (seefor example, Gibson and Shillito, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces aprotein or mRNA which expresses a phenotype or morphology change ofinterest is useful for the practice of the present invention.

G. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of a tomatovariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a tomato plant by transformation.

H. Deposit Information

A deposit of tomato hybrid PS 01565172 and inbred parent lines FDR15-2081 and FDS 15-2118, disclosed above and recited in the claims, hasbeen made with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801University Blvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of the deposits wasJan. 26, 2010. The accession numbers for those deposited seeds of tomatohybrid PS 01565172 and inbred parent lines FDR 15-2081 and FDS 15-2118are ATCC Accession Number PTA-10609, ATCC Accession Number PTA-10606,and ATCC Accession Number PTA-10607, respectively. Upon issuance of apatent, all restrictions upon the deposits will be removed, and thedeposits are intended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R.§1.801-1.809. The deposits will be maintained in the depository for aperiod of 30 years, or 5 years after the last request, or for theeffective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and will be replacedif necessary during that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

REFERENCES

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplaryprocedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, arespecifically incorporated herein by reference:

-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,175-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,365-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,435-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,275-   An et al., Plant Physiol., 88:547, 1988.-   Bird et al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991.-   Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989.-   Callis et al., Plant Physiol., 88:965, 1988.-   Choi et al., Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994.-   Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591, 1990.-   Ellul et al., Theor. Appl. Genet., 107:462-469, 2003.-   EP 534 858-   Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985.-   Fromm et al., Nature, 312:791-793, 1986.-   Fromm et al., Plant Cell, 1:977, 1989.-   Gibson and Shillito, Mol. Biotech., 7:125, 1997-   Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985.-   Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989.-   Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988.-   Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989.-   Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985.-   Omirulleh et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993.-   Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985.-   Roshal et al., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987.-   Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991.-   Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988.-   Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989.-   Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985.-   Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990.-   Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986.-   Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998.-   Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990.-   WO 99/31248

What is claimed is:
 1. A tomato plant comprising at least a first set ofthe chromosomes of tomato line FDS 15-2118, a sample of seed of saidline having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-10607.
 2. Aseed comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of tomato lineFDR 15-2081, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-10607.
 3. The plant of claim 1, which isinbred.
 4. The plant of claim 1, which is hybrid.
 5. The seed of claim2, wherein the is seed produces an inbred plant of line FDS 15-2118. 6.A plant part of the plant of claim
 1. 7. The plant part of claim 6,further defined as a leaf, a flower, a fruit, an ovule, pollen, or acell.
 8. A tomato plant having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the tomato plant of claim
 3. 9. A tissue culture ofregenerable cells of the plant of claim
 1. 10. The tissue cultureaccording to claim 9, comprising cells or protoplasts from a plant partselected from the group consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons,pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed andstalks.
 11. A tomato plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim10, wherein said plant has all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of tomato line FDS 15-2118.
 12. A method of vegetativelypropagating the plant of claim 1 comprising the steps of: (a) collectingtissue capable of being propagated from the plant according to claim 1;(b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c)rooting said proliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising growing at least a first plantfrom said rooted plantlets.
 14. A method of introducing a desired traitinto a tomato line comprising: (a) crossing a plant of line FDS 15-2118with a second tomato plant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1progeny, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-10607; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that comprisesthe desired trait; (c) backcrossing the selected F1 progeny with a plantof line FDS 15-2118 to produce backcross progeny; (d) selectingbackcross progeny comprising the desired trait and the physiological andmorphological characteristics of tomato line FDS 15-2118; and (e)repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times to produce selectedfourth or higher backcross progeny that comprises the desired trait andotherwise comprises essentially all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of tomato line FDS 15-2118.
 15. A tomatoplant produced by the method of claim
 14. 16. A method of producing aplant comprising an added trait, the method comprising introducing atransgene conferring the trait into a plant of line FDS 15-2118, asample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-10607.
 17. A plant produced by the method of claim
 16. 18. Amethod of determining the genotype of the plant of claim 1 comprisingobtaining a sample of nucleic acids from said plant and detecting insaid nucleic acids a plurality of polymorphisms, thereby determining thegenotype of the plant.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprisingthe step of storing the results of detecting the plurality ofpolymorphisms on a computer readable medium.
 20. The plant of claim 1,further comprising a transgene.
 21. The plant of claim 20, wherein thetransgene confers a trait selected from the group consisting of malesterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stresstolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism and modified proteinmetabolism.
 22. A plant of tomato line FDS 15-2118 further comprising asingle locus conversion, a sample of seed of said line having beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-10607, wherein said plantotherwise comprises essentially all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of tomato line FDS 15-2118.
 23. The plantof claim 22, wherein the single locus conversion confers a traitselected from the group consisting of male sterility, herbicidetolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance, disease resistance,modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stress tolerance, modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism and modified protein metabolism.
 24. A methodfor producing a seed of a plant derived from line FDS 15-2118 comprisingthe steps of: (a) crossing a tomato plant of line FDS 15-2118 withitself or a second tomato plant; a sample of seed of said line havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-10607; and (b) allowingseed of a line FDS 15-2118-derived tomato plant to form.
 25. The methodof claim 24, further comprising the steps of: (c) selfing a plant grownfrom said FDS 15-2118-derived tomato seed to yield additional line FDS15-2118-derived tomato seed; (d) growing said additional line FDS15-2118-derived tomato seed of step (c) to yield additional line FDS15-2118-derived tomato plants; and (e) repeating the selfing and growingsteps of (c) and (d) to generate at least a first further line FDS15-2118-derived tomato plant.
 26. The method of claim 24, wherein thesecond tomato plant is of an inbred tomato line.
 27. The method of claim25, further comprising: (f) crossing the further FDS 15-2118-derivedtomato plant with a different tomato plant to produce seed of a hybridprogeny plant.
 28. A method of producing a tomato seed comprisingcrossing the plant of claim 1 with itself or a second tomato plant andallowing seed to form.
 29. A method of producing a tomato fruitcomprising: (a) obtaining the plant according to claim 1, wherein theplant has been cultivated to maturity; and (b) collecting a tomato fromthe plant.